Pac NW & Vancouver 8/1-8/14

[Creek]

First of all, what an amazing 15 days. My journey took me from Colorado to Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, Washington, Vancouver...then back again - through the same states, just different routes.

I spent ZERO dollars on lodging along the way which was a big bonus (more beer money) - take advantage of YOUR National Forests.

Some other numbers:
3900 miles, 75 hrs of driving over 15 days, 15.5 mpg avg, 98.5 mph max speed, 5 states and 1 province, 4 breweries, 2 dudes, 1 dog, and 1 kickass time.

Now for the story and pics:

My buddy John flew in from NY on Thurs night, July 31. By the time we got back to my house, it was 2am. So much for a 6am start time. So, we got on the road Friday Aug 1 at around 10am...not bad.

Packed and ready to go

On the road again

We made our way up through northern CO, through WY, and arrived in Jackson, WY around 6pm. Stopped at Snake River Brewing for a couple beers and to get some growlers. Then we headed north out of Jackson to Bridger-Teton NF. I had no idea where we were going to camp, but I had an area in mind from looking at maps. Well, I was right on with my assumption that we would have an awesome spot.

Camp night 1:

We made it through the night with bellies full of beer and no bears. It was a good night

 

[Creek]

Woke up on Sat Aug 2 and headed out. The plan was to go through Grand Teton and Yellowstone NP's and then up through Montana to camp on the western edge of Glacier NP. It was a long day, but well worth it.

Pics from Day 2

We got up to our intended camping area to find that the entire area had been burned out not too long ago. There were no camping spots and it was getting late, so we just pulled off the dirt road and setup camp.

Woke up on Sun Aug 3 to a spectacular view (couldn't really get a feel for it the night before. Then we headed west along US 2 and then WA 20.

 

[Creek]

Yes, I relinquished control of my X for a few hours...ugh

Got to Mazama and another great camping spot (thanks cnskate for the spot!!!)

Woke up on Mon Aug 3 and it was our final push for Vancouver. This took us through North Cascades NP...

and then through Bellingham, WA (good brewery) and then to BC.

 

[Creek]

Got to our buddy Paul's place in Vancouver and hung out for the night, did laundry and packed up the backpack. We woke up on Tues Aug 4, loaded up the X with 4 people, 4 packs, and 2 dogs and headed up to Brandywine. We had a guide book for our hike, but it was deemed useless after about 5 minutes on the trail. We missed the trailhead and started hiking along an old forest road. Well, that got us up the mountain...the hard way. We ended up 2 valleys over from our intended camping area (Brandywine Meadows). All was good though. We knew where we were and we were completely isolated from EVERYTHING and EVERYONE. It was surreal. Some pics from the hike up and our base camp.

It was a hellish hike in, but worth every step. By far, the most difficult backpacking I've ever done.

 

[Creek]

Anyway, we woke up the next morning with the goal of hiking up Brandywine Mountain. From where we were, there was no trail, so it was a day of bushwacking, scrambling, and climbing to the top.

We all made it up to the ridge below the peak. My knees were about done and Paul's gf's hamstring was hurting. We stayed behind while Paul and John made their bid for the summit. While they did that, we took an alpine mid-afternoon nap. It was awesome.

They reached the summit and then came back to rub it in a bit about how awesome the views were. It was ok, as the nap gave my knees new life for the hike down. What took us 6 hours to go up, only took us 1.5 hours to come down. It was treacherous at times, but all was good...no injuries nor deaths.

Waterfalls like this one were EVERYWHERE

Then we got back to base camp and the mood was one of exhaustion

The next day, Thurs Aug 6, it was time for the hike out. Again, no injuries or deaths. We got back to Vancouver, exhausted, and just hung out for a couple of days.

 

[Creek]

Then on Sunday Aug 10, my buddy John flew back to NY from Vancouver and I set out back on the road...solo this time (well, with the dog). Got through the border without issue (I swear it's easier getting into the US than into Canada). I camped again in Mazama, WA. From there, the next day, I drove back across WA, ID, and into MT. Again, I camped on the west edge of Glacier NP. This time though, I found a primo spot - on Hungry Horse Reservoir. It was so nice in fact, that I spent 2 nights there.

Woke up on Wed Aug 13 and drove through Glacier NP. It was definitely beautiful, BUT...to really appreciate it, you have to go backpacking there...next year!!!

After going through Glacier, it was back on the road.

This time south. I knew I wanted to get down to the MT/WY border, but wasn't quite sure where. I found Beartooth Pass on the map and set a course for it. Got down to Red Lodge, MT around 6ish and continued to Custer NF just south of there. I was pretty let down when all I could find were developed camp sites with snowbirds in their RV's. Then I took another gander at the map and found a forest road that headed up into the mountains. Then I found one of the nicest camping spots I've come across in all my travels.

 

[Creek]

Woke up before sunrise on Thurs Aug 14 with the goal of HOME set for the day. I figured it would just be another crap day of driving through WY (I hate WY). To my surprise the first 2 hours of the drive were through some of the MOST scenic areas I've ever seen in the country.

Then came the dreaded drive through the barren wasteland we refer to as Wyoming...did I mention I hate Wyoming? Made it home on the 14th around 6pm. This is definitely up there in the top 3 roadtrips I've ever done. Till next time...

ETA - Here's a link to the whole album. 500 something pics
http://s223.photobucket.com/albums/dd214/norml311/Xpedition Aug 08/

 

[olympiccop2002]

Great Pics! Looks like a fun trip for sure! :wings:

Bjorn

 

[Jerry]

Great report and fantastic photos. Thanks for sharing.

 

[Nullifier]

Wow looks like a great trip!!! really enjoyed the pics.

 

[2K54X4]

Nice pics... Looked like one helluva trip.




I wish MORE Coloradans felt the same way about Wyoming as you.

 

[Backwoods Rambler]

Then I took another gander at the map and found a forest road that headed up into the mountains. Then I found one of the nicest camping spots I've come across in all my travels.

Holy crap, that's a sweet spot!! Do you have GPS coordinates for this location?

 

[Creek]

I'll get em...I'll PM them to you

 

[Wyoming Shooter]

...I wish MORE Coloradans felt the same way about Wyoming as you.

Ditto. Please tell all your Californorado friends and neighbors that WY sucks. Thanks very much. ELN

 

[Creek]

Ditto. Please tell all your Californorado friends and neighbors that WY sucks. Thanks very much. ELN

I wish someone would tell all the Texans and Californians that CO sucks.